Language: Nyeng

Classification

This entry has been retired and is featured here only for bookkeeping purposes. Either
the entry has been replaced with one or more more accurate entries or it has been retired
because it was based on a misunderstanding to begin with.

The Ahwai people speak a single language on a functional level. The expansion of
the [nfd] Ndun code element with the merging of [nfg] Nyeng , [nfk] Shakara into
it necessitates using a name that identifies the whole group, rather than a
single subgroup.

We propose this change based on the results of our language research, undertaken
in March 2007 in the southeastern area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. These three
related varieties were proved to be varieties of the same language rather than
three separate languages. The users of each variety have inherent understanding
of the other variety at a functional level. The Ahwai people, as all three
groups commonly identify themselves, say they all speak the same language, but
with “different intonation”. Their claims of the similarity of and
intelligibility between their three speech varieties are supported by the high
lexical similarity between varieties (over 86%) and the similarity of their
noun-class marking systems, based on the comparison of the 320-items wordlists.
Also, although each Ahwai sub-group has a distinct ethnolinguistic identity,
they are not antagonistic towards one another. Rather, they desire to cooperate
in language development, and come together to preserve their common identity.